Union negotiations going well as contract deadline approaches for OU

The union of Ohio University non-teaching employees reached a “tentative agreement” with the university after negotiations over the renewal of a three-year collective bargaining agreement slated to expire today at 5 PM.“[The union and the university] have reached a tentative agreement and the union will vote on the agreement later this week,” said Linda Lonsinger, the Chief Human Resource Officer, in an email on Wednesday. Lonsinger gave no other information and was unavailable for an interview because “every moment is dedicated to negotiations.”The local union, Local 1699, belongs to the parent organization the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and issued a strike notice on February 14 leading up to the negotiations, which affect an estimated 600 university employees. According to Lonsinger, it is required that the union notifies the university 10 days before a strike.“We have regularly received AFSCME strike notices in the past, and it is routine for a union to send one regardless of the progress being made in negotiations,” said Lonsinger in a memo issued February 18. She added that the negotiations were going well and that the university hoped the strike would not be necessary.The collective bargaining agreement, which expires today, addressed such concerns as wage rates, insurance benefits and education benefits for university employees, including custodians, maintenance workers and cooks, among others.According to the strike notice, in the case that the union does strike, they would picket along West Union St. near the Station St. Apartments.The Local 1699 have picketed the university before. In 2007, the union picketed after union employees were laid off due to budgetary cuts, but did not occur during contract negotiations. The union was upset because of what AFSCME Local 1600 President Dave Logan said was a breach in a mutual understanding agreement.The agreement, which expires today, states that a strike is prohibited until the 5 PM deadline. “It is mutually agreed upon and pledged that … work stoppage of any form by employees shall not take place during the term of this Contract or any renewal thereof, nor shall there be any strike or threat of strike. The parties also agree that there will be no reservations, special circumstances, or exceptions warranting a lockout or strike,” the agreement says.The contract also establishes that if the two parties are unable to reach an agreement within 50 days of the deadline, the State Employment Relations Board will be contacted to mediate the negotiations. So far, negotiations are solely between the university and AFSCME.